Spike



(No Model.) I

r W. H. BAILEY.

SPIKE. N0. 285,373. Patented Sept. 25, 1888.

. Jnveniqr: wrmmm- NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. BAILEY, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

SPIKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 285,373, datedSeptember 25, 1383. Application filed February 526, 1853. (No model.)

1T0 aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM: HI BAILEY, of Minneapolis, in the county ofHennepin, and inthe State of Minnesota, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Spikes and I do hereby declare that the followingis a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, and to the letters of neference markedthereon, making apart of this specification.

This invention relatesto certain new and useful improvements in spikesand analogous articles, without regard to their longitudinal or diametrical dimensions, the same being specially designed'for holdingrailroad-rails securely and firmly down to the railway-bed or thecross-ties on which the rails are laid. It is observable that myimproved spikes may be used for any other purposes to which they areapplicable, whether such'purposes relate to railroads or to any .of thecommon uses of spikes. They consist of a head of any desirableconfiguration, a straight shank, (preferably of rectangular form incross-'section,) a twisted or helically-formed body, and a fiat orabrupt end having its face at right angles to the longitudinal axis ofthe spike, as more fully hereinafter specified. They are speciallyintended as an improvement on the spike for which Letters Patent weregranted to nie August 8, 1882, numbered 269,344, the particular featureof improvement consisting in the peculiar formation of the entering end,as will more fully hereinafter appear.

My invention has for its object to provide spikes or other similardevices which shall embody in them the minimum or least possible amountof material, and which shall be capable of withstanding the maximum orgreatest amount of strain without liability of withdrawal.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and011 which like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts, Figure1 represents a perspective view,

low the head, and a spirally-twisted and 1011- of niy improved spike;Fig. 2, a plan view thereof, looking down upon the entering end; andFig. 3, a vertical sectional view of the same, the upper portion beingbroken oft.

The letter A designates the head of the spike, the same being of theordinary or of any approved form, and the letter B the shank thereof,the same being preferably of rectangular form, and extending from thehead to the dotted line a; x. In some instances I contemplate using anyform of shank which may be found best adapted to the purposes of myinvention. This portion of the spike agrees in configuration anddimensions with the bar from which it is produced. Beginning where theshank terminates or leaves off, the stock is given a twist equal toabout half a revolution, thus carrying each of the angular corners oredges through an arc of one hundred and eighty degrees, the effect ofwhich is to form a spiral or helical body, the spaces between eachrespective two of the spiral edges being of concav ed form, this metal 0constituting the body of the spike. The stock terminates abruptly,leaving the entering end flat or at right anglesto the longitudinal axisof the spike. The termini of the spiral edges are tapered or beveledfrom their respective op posite sides to a sharp edge, D, and theconcave body metal a, between the said edges, is also beveled or-taperedlongitudinally toward its center, as seen in Figs. 4 and 5, the objectof which is to provide the spike with a proper entering end. Thediameter of the spike, measuring from the diametrical spiral edges,

is equal, or approximately so, from end to end,

save a slight taper, which is given the edges near their lower termini.

The manner of using my spike'is substantially that described in mypatent above alluded to, and consists in placing it in such relativeposition to the thing to be secured that its head will be in properposition after it shall have been driven home, the spike receiving apartial rotation as it proceeds into the wood. V

Having thus fully described my invention, whatI claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, isw 1. A spike consisting of a head, a shankbegitudinally-concave body, the body, including its spiral flanges,being tapered near the lower end, the flanges from opposite sidesrespectively, and the body proper toward its center, whereby the end isformed, substantially as described.

2. A spike consisting of a head, a shank below the head, and aspirally-twisted body, the spiral flanges 0f the body and the bodyitself being tapered near the end, the flanges from their respectiveopposite sides, and the body proper from all sides toward the center,whereby an entering end is formed, substantially as described. 77

3. A spike consisting of a head, a shank below the head, of rectangularform in cross-section, aspirally-twisted and longitudinally-concavedbody, the spiral flanges of the body and I 5 the body itself beingtapered near the end, the flanges from their respective opposite sides,and the body proper from all sides toward the center, whereby anentering end is formed, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses,this 26th day of February, 1883.

VILLIAM H. BAILEY.

